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2012 Pegasus Bay Pinot Noir Waipara Valley (Elsewhere $42)

SKU #120851596 points
James Suckling

A sense of real depth, soothing dark cherry notes, some forest floor and deeply knitted oak. The palate has noble tannins and the sort of structural complexity and completeness that is the envy of most other NZ Pinot Noir makers.
(5/2015)

95 points
Bob Campbell

Full-flavoured Pinot Noir with plum, spice, glazed cherry, floral/violet and a hint of savoury and mineral character. Mouth-filling wine with obvious power and a lengthy finish. A consistently top wine that shows the benefit of vine age.

94-95 points
Raymond Chan

Dark, even ruby-red colour with slight purple hues, youthful in appearance. The bouquet is softly full and blossoming in ethereal volume, showing a core of concentrated ripe, dark red berry fruits along with unfolding layers of spices, dark herbs, red florals and savoury nutty oak. The aromatics are detailed and harmoniously interwoven. Medium-full bodied, rich and luscious flavours of savoury dark red berry fruits are melded with dried herbs, whole cluster stalky complexities, and spicy oak. The fruit extract lends a fulsome grainy-textured structure and depth that supports and balances the fruit sweetness. The mouthfeel has plenty of presence and is enlivened by fresh, underlying lacy acidity, carrying the wine to a long, concentrated and textured finish with lush fruit notes. This is a rich, lush and concentrated, well-structured Pinot Noir with an array of complex flavours. Match with lamb, beef and game meat dishes over the next 6-8+ years. Multi-clone blend from vines up to nearly 30 y.o., with a portion ungrafted, indigenous yeast fermented with many whole berries and 10% whole clusters to 13.5% alc., the wine aged 18 months in 30% new French oak barriques.

93 points
Wine Enthusiast

***Editors' Choice*** Peg Bay is the flagship winery of Waipara, yet the wines remain realistically priced. Plum, cola and cherry notes are accompanied by strongly umami sensations akin to mushroom and roasted beef, giving this wine ample complexity. While the wine is concentrated, it has an airy, graceful feel to it. Drink 2016–2024. (JC)
(9/2015)

92 points
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Pale ruby-purple, the 2012 Pinot Noir has a stunning perfume of red roses and red cherries with hints of raspberry leaves, cinnamon stick and cloves. Beautifully elegant and ethereal on the palate with silky tannins framing the perfumed red berries, it finishes long. 92+ (LPB)
(1/2015)

Zesty wild berry and black cherry flavors have plenty of spice, tea, toast and tobacco notes. Tannins firm up on the finish, which shows a touch of dried roses. Drink now through 2020. 1,900 cases made. (Web Only-2015) (MW)

K&L Notes

One of my absolute favorite producers in NZ and a true stalwart in the majestic Waipara region. Pegasus Bay's wines are as delicious as they are unique; always stuffed full of charcter, flavor and authenticity; always crafted with food in mind. These shouldn't be missed. (Ryan Woodhouse - K&L NZ Wine Buyer)

Product Reviews:

Wow, this is some delicious Pinot Noir and certainly one of their best in many years that brings balance, character and nuance with a nod to Burgundy. The bouquet soars with rose petal, cherry, raspberry, cinnamon, clove dried tangerine peel, earth and a bit of forest floor. On the palate there is a good acid line with fine tuned supple tannins to ensure secondary development with time in the cellar, even though it's darn tasty right now. Fermentation was done with indigenous yeast and spent 18 months in French oak barriques for maturation. Besides Central Otago being the new darling and Martinborough the early poster boy/girl for New Zealand Pinot Noir, Waipara/Canterbury has been bringing some serious game to the table. Don’t think about it, buy it.

An exceptional release from this legendary Waipara Estate. I have enjoyed many wines from Peg Bay over the years but the 2012 is really something special. Whether it's the vine age (30+years) or the exceptionally long hang-time of the cool 2012 season, this wine just seems to have the perfect balance of physiologically ripe flavors, minerality structure and acidity. It has a complex, compact and detailed nose of forest berries and leaf litter, exotic dried spices, bay leaf, clove with more savory herbs like thyme and sage. On the palate the wine has great focus and linear energy. The fruit is juicy but fresh and lively. There is a real purity and vibrancy in the wine. The texture is very silky with compact layers of very fine tannins unfolding with air. The wine grows in the glass revealing more fruit weight and complexity as it goes. These is a lovely "woodsy" note here too of sandalwood or fleshly split cedar. Awesome wine that has the purity and intrigue that great Pinots possess. This is a must buy for Pinot lovers. The best I have seen from Pegasus Bay and worthy of its great reviews.

Additional Information:

Varietal:

Pinot Noir

- One of France's most legendary grapes and the grape that earned Burgundy its reputation. The parent of varietals like Pinot Gris/Grigio and Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir is blue to violet to indigo in color with relatively thin skins, and it is said to have been cultivated in France for more than 2,000 years. At its best, Pinot Noir creates elegant wines that are filled with primary red fruit aromas and flavors while young, revealing with an array of secondary characteristics like earth, smoke, violet, truffle and game with age. The varietal is also known, perhaps better than any, for its ability to translate terroir, or a sense of place. While the best Pinot Noir still comes from Burgundy, it is being produced with increasing success in cooler climates around the world. In France, it is part of the trifecta of grapes that can go into Champagne, and it is also grown in Alsace, Irancy, Jura, Savoie, Lorraine and Sancerre. Outside of France it is produced under the names Pinot Nero and Blauburgunder in Italy's mountainous regions, as Spätburgunder in Germany and as Blauburgunder in Austria. In the US, Pinot Noir has found suitable growing conditions in the cooler parts of California, including Carneros, the Russian River Valley, the Anderson Valley, the Sonoma Coast, Monterey County, the Santa Lucia Highlands and Santa Barbara County, as well as in Oregon's Willamette Valley. In recent years, New Zealand has demonstrated its ability to interpret this hard-to-grow varietal, with successful bottlings coming from careful and attentive growers in Central Otago, Martinborough and Canterbury. Chile is also an up-and-coming region for Pinot Noir, creating fresh, fruit-forward, early-drinking and affordable Pinots from the coastal Casablanca Valley and the Limari Valley.

Country:

New Zealand

- New Zealand is an extremely diverse wine-growing nation. The long history of producing wine started in the 1830s with wineries such as Mission Estate (1850) and Te Mata Estate (1896) still producing wine today. The two islands hold a multitude of different growing climates ranging from warmer areas such as Hawke’s Bay to very cool regions such as Waitaki, and Awatere. Most regions are defined as Maritime with the exception being Central Otago that has a moderate Continental climate with the high elevation creating dramatic diurnal swings in temperature. The plethora of grapes grown in New Zealand reflects this diverse microclimate make up. Everything has a place here, Bordeaux varietals and Syrah in Hawke’s Bay, Chardonnay and Pinot in Nelson, Pinot Noir and Riesling in Central Otago , aromatic whites in Waipara and pretty much everything you can imagine in Marlborough. New Zealand is also one of the “greenest” wine producing nations on earth (94% of wine certified sustainable in 2013) with a strong focus on organic and Biodynamic farming.